A killer nodded as he held a Quran in his hands when he was jailed for life today for murdering a man in a drug deal ambush attack gone wrong.
Mohammed Qasim, 24, stabbed Richard Hopley inside a Volkswagen Passat, a blow which severed the victim's fifth rib before entering his heart. A court heard Qasim, who is a drug addict, and three other men had planned to rob a dealer but when a struggle ensued, Qasim delivered the single knife blow to the chest of Mr Hopley, 43, who had been driving the drug supplier around a city.
The defendant was found guilty of murder and conspiracy to rob and, as he was locked up at Birmingham Crown Court earlier today, Qasim nodded as he held a Quran in his hands.
Sentencing, Judge Paul Farrer KC said Qasim played a "central role" in the plan to rob the drug dealer. He ruled that at the time of the stabbing he had "intended to kill" Mr Hopley but accepted he had not pre-mediated his murder.
Nicholas Stallard was also sentenced at Birmingham Crown Court (WMP/UNPIXS)
Paul Hayles was also convicted of manslaughter (WMP/UNPIXS)Judge Farrer added: "As those things were taking place, Qasim was still in the car and was panicking. In those circumstances, he lunged towards Mr Hopley with the knife and stabbed him to the left side of his chest. The blow was delivered with severe force such that it severed Mr Hopley's fifth rib before entering his heart."
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Two other men Nicholas Stallard, in his 40s, and Paul Hayles, in his 60s were jailed for manslaughter last year for their involvement in the attack, which amounted to attacking the car Mr Hopley was driving. A fourth man, who was said to be another dealer who instigated the robbery of his rival, remains at large having fled to Pakistan, reports Birmingham Live.
The group had called the target dealer to an address near Selly Oak, Birmingham, on September 22, 2022. They waited for more than half an hour before Mr Hopley pulled up in the Passat.
Qasim got in the front passenger seat, brandished a knife and demanded the dealer, who was in the back seat, hand over his quantity of drugs. As he went to leave Mr Hopley grabbed him and lost control of the car which veered on to a grass verge.
Qasim, of Saltley, Birmingham, became frustrated and then demanded cash as well. At this point Stallard ran to the Passat and tried to lean in and grab the keys from the ignition. Mr Hopley reversed causing him to be dragged backwards with the car. Hayles approached to help and smashed the driver's window.
After the attack, Qasim then fled as the group ran off. Mr Hopley managed to drive off but collapsed at the wheel on a nearby road and crashed into a parked Mercedes. He tragically died from the stab wound.
Qasim flew to Pakistan but returned to the UK around a year later 'believing he could lie his way out of trouble', the judge said. He claimed he knew nothing of a plan to rob the dealer who he alleged was the one to accidentally stab Mr Hopley in an effort to defend the attacks on the car.
But the judge acknowledged Qasim was a vulnerable drug addict and had been 'exploited' by the rival dealer who had planned the robbery.
Mr Hopley's mother Marilyn Warner said: "We are devastated and broken at the loss of our only child. The Richard we knew is not the Richard that you have been told about. He was a kind and very loving son."
She added: "What has anyone gained by his death? Nothing has been gained, just all of this heartache which we will both carry with us the rest of our lives."
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